Desolate Era (Book 1 - Book 5)

Ji Ning was absolutely delighted. Help him? Help him out?

“Stare at the painting of Nuwa.” Lord Cui pointed at the painting on the wall.

Ji Ning looked at it.

So that woman in the painting was the goddess Nuwa?

“The person on this painting is the most holy and most compassionate primordial goddess, Miss Nuwa.” The face of Lord Cui turned solemn. “Ever since Pangu died after creating the universe, only she, Miss Nuwa, has reached Pangu’s level. Miss Nuwa is capable of destroying the universe, but also capable of healing it. She can even create new life. Of the countless races, the human race is the most spiritual one, and it was created by Miss Nuwa. She has understood 84,000 truths, and without question, she is the most invincible, powerful presence in the Three Realms.”

“The highest in the Three Realms?” Ji Ning was stunned.

Nuwa created humans, and Nuwa repaired the world. He had long ago heard of these myths.

“This painting is used for the visualization technique, but there’s no way you can see the secrets hidden within it.” Lord Cui laughed. “Although you are about to become a Deva and a heavenly warrior and will also be trained in this, let me first teach you a bit of the visualization technique and fulfill the karmic bonds that brought us together.”

“Thank you, Lord Cui.” Ji Ning bowed so low, he almost reached the ground.

“No need to thank me. It is nothing more than a visualization technique. It isn’t some sort of secret training method, or a magical technique of the Immortals or the Devils.” Lord Cui pointed a single finger at Ji Ning’s forehead.

Boom!

Ji Ning felt his brain suddenly explode, and an enormous figure of Nuwa appeared in his mind.

“Wake up.” Lord Cui looked at Ji Ning. “Remember. Often visualizing her will definitely allow you to train your soul. But of course, you are about to be reborn and you’ll need to drink Grandma Meng’s Elixir. You will temporarily lose your memory. When you turn sixteen, you will remember this visualization technique. But that’s enough. It will definitely be enough to let you become an outstanding figure in the army of Heaven! With this visualization technique, you will have a chance to train to become an Immortal. If you wish to become a Celestial Immortal, you will suffer many trials…I hope that you will succeed, and in the future, we will meet again in the Celestial Court.”

Ji Ning’s heart was filled with excitement.

The army of Heaven?

Becoming an Immortal?

He really looked forward to it all.

“Go.” The Lord of Cui Palace waved his hand.

Hua.

Ji Ning disappeared.





Book 1, Chapter 2 - Reincarnation


“By order of the Lord of Cui Palace, I have come to escort you to the Road to the Yellow Springs, brother.”

In mid-air, a woman dressed in purple was flying while holding Ji Ning by his hand.

Ji Ning stared around him.

Just a moment ago, he had been in the palace of the Lord of Cui Palace. How did he suddenly appear in mid-air?

“Dare I ask, who exactly IS Lord Cui?” Ji Ning was puzzled. “I heard that before reincarnating, I would meet with the Judges of the Dead. They would investigate my past and present lives, then send me to be reincarnated, right?”

“Didn’t you already see a Judge?” The violet clothed woman laughed. “As the Custodian of the Book of Life and Death, Lord Cui is naturally the First Judge of the Dead! Since he personally came to judge you, of course the other common judges don’t need to come judge you.”

In the Netherworld Kingdom, the highest authority was that of the Yamas of the Ten Halls, the ten Kings of Hell. Immediately beneath them was the First Judge of the Dead, the Lord of Cui Palace, ‘Cui Jue’.

His great fame had long since spread throughout the three Realms.

The Mortal Realm was vast beyond compare. It had three thousand major worlds and trillions of minor worlds. Every single living creature, before they were born, would have their good deeds and evil deeds assessed by the Judges. What an enormous task this was! Thus, the entire Netherworld Kingdom had trillions of Judges who were responsible for judging the dead souls of the trillions of worlds. But Cui Jue was the leader of all of the Judges, and was titled the First Judge. He was the true Custodian of the Book of Life and Death. His power was so great that he was virtually on the same level as the Ten Kings of Hell.

“Look. The Road to the Yellow Springs.” The woman pointed to a vast road ahead of them, which had countless ghosts slowly trudging along in a line. “If you follow the road, you will quickly arrive at the Bridge of Despair. After you pass the Bridge of Despair and drink Grandma Meng’s Elixer of Forgetfulness, you can go be reborn.”

“Go.”

The woman waved her hand.

Ji Ning’s body was suddenly surrounded by golden light, which sent him flying straight down into the front of the line, allowing him to ‘cut in line’.

The minotaur soldiers next to the line, upon seeing the violet clothed woman high up in the air, didn’t dare to say a word. They even arranged for one of the minotaur soldiers to escort Ji Ning and were extremely courteous to him.

……

The Yellow Springs Road was full of mist. Countless souls were making their way through it, and Ji Ning was one of them.

“What’s that?” Ji Ning stared in front.

In front of him, the mist was very thick. Any souls that entered there disappeared and never came back.

“Go on. In front is the Bridge of Despair,” the nearby minotaur soldier said amiably.

Ji Ning nodded. Not hesitating, he stepped forward, entering that dense fog.

He suddenly felt as though spacetime had changed.

“Where is this?” Ji Ning stared at his surroundings in confusion. In front of him was a small, winding road. Ghostly forms could be hazily made out. In front of him, only a few dozen ghosts could be seen. In front of this little road was a river with rapid, turbid water.

“That should be the legendary Bridge of Despair.” Ji Ning headed forward.

“How strange.”

“Clearly, countless people entered here. But how come after I stepped in, so few people can be seen?” Ji Ning was quite baffled.

How could he know that here at the Bridge of Despair, time flowed differently than in the outside world.

As the saying goes, ‘For each day that passes in Heaven, a year passes in the mortal world.’

Time passed here at the Bridge of Despair at an even more extravagantly fast pace. A single day in the Netherworld Kingdom would equal countless years here in the Bridge of Despair.

“Ah! Ah!”

“I’m sorry!”

As Ji Ning walked onto the Bridge of Despair, he saw that the other side of the bridge had a pool of blood. The pool of blood had all sorts of poisonous bugs, poisonous snakes, and vicious dogs that wildly bit at people. Most of the ghosts simply walked past the pool of blood, but some fell straight into it. Clearly, these people were burdened by great sins, and found it impossible to avoid the terrifying pool of blood.

“If you knew what would happen today, would you have acted so previously?” Ji Ning shook his head, then stared at the other side. “So beautiful.”

Next to the River of Forgetfulness was countless beautiful flowers.

Not too far from the bridge was a precious gem which flashed the light, creating many different images. This was the legendary ‘Stone of Three Lives’, referring to the ‘previous life’, the ‘current life’, and the ‘next life’.

Not too far away from the Stone of Three Lives was a stone dais. This was the ‘Dais of Viewing Home’. After the souls passed the dais, they arrived at Grandma Meng.